Strepy-Thieu Boat Lift

Strepy-Thieu opened in 2002 to replace the four historic lifts and the locks on the old Canal du Centre with a single structure capable of taking 1,350-tonne barges, and it does the whole climb at once: two independent caissons, each holding about eight thousand tonnes of water and boat, are raised and lowered seventy-three metres by cables and counterweights inside a concrete block a hundred and seventeen metres high. It was the largest boat lift in the world by height until the Three Gorges lift in China opened in 2016, and it remains the largest in Europe. A visitor centre inside the structure explains the engineering and gives access to viewing levels, and boat trips run through the lift and down the old canal to the historic lifts, which makes the contrast between the two systems the point of a day here.

What you actually see

• A seventy-three-metre lift in one movement - the largest of its kind in Europe.
• Two caissons of eight thousand tonnes - the tanks that carry boats and water.
• The machinery hall - cables and counterweights inside the concrete block.
• Boat trips through the lift - riding up or down in the caisson.

When to go

April to October for boat trips; the visitor centre is open year round with reduced winter hours. Two to three hours, or a full day with a trip down to the old lifts. Trips need booking.

Honest expectations

It is a working commercial structure and boat trips are timetabled around traffic. The visitor centre is dated. Interpretation is in French with some English. The concrete block is not beautiful and the surrounding area is industrial.

Nearby

The four historic lifts are on the old canal alongside; Ronquieres lies north.